In this solo episode of SeongLife, Daniel Seong records alone because Christina is in Vegas with Nicole, who just turned 21. In January he flies to Parris Island to watch his best friend's son graduate Marine Corps boot camp, and getting that kid ready has put him back inside his own send-off in 1998, five days after he graduated high school, picked up at 4 AM. He talks about the one scripted phone call recruits get, the letter he writes every week, and the question he finally asked his parents at dinner about what those thirteen weeks were like on their end. His mother started tearing up. Then the second half of his own life, a house in Orange County that closed $700,000 under list, and what he actually wants his days to look like.
3 Key Listener Takeaways
1. Daniel Finally Asked His Parents What Boot Camp Was Like For Them
Twenty-eight years later, over dinner, he asked. His mother teared up and said it was hard and they cried every night. He had never asked before, because the only point of view he ever had on it was his own, an eighteen year old leaving. His parents did not speak English, money was tight, and they had two sons ship out two weeks apart.
2. Recruits Get One Phone Call and It Is a Script
You stand in line, you take the phone, you say you arrived safely at MCRD San Diego and that this is your last call until graduation, and you hang up. There is no conversation. Your parents cannot ask whether you ate or whether you are okay. Thirteen weeks of nothing follows, and in 1998 the only other channel was mail.
3. The Line Daniel Keeps Coming Back To
You live with a person you cannot live without, only to teach them to live without you. He applies it to all five kids. Lauren is a senior next year, which takes the house from five kids down to Nathan by himself. He is clear that this is how it is supposed to go, and just as clear that it is still hard.
Show Overview
00:00 The one phone call you get
00:49 Why Christina is not here
03:21 Thirteen weeks, the longest boot camp
04:11 Never call a drill instructor a drill sergeant
05:59 Parris Island in January
07:32 Seeing it through a parent's eyes for the first time
08:53 Five days after high school, picked up at 4 AM
10:02 What you are allowed to say on that call
12:07 Asking his parents, and his mom tearing up
12:51 Raising them to live without you
14:51 No favorite place, only favorite people
17:19 What his perfect day actually looks like
19:28 From five kids down to one
20:24 Taking the retirement math seriously
26:00 A house that closed $700,000 under list